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I think the biggest difference you'll see in power will come from gears at this point. That was the only thing that made my JK driveable again after the lift and tires. The intake, programmer, and other things slightly helped but the gears made a world of diff.

The person who told you that you'll be killing your MPG is sorta right. Maybe 33's and 4.10's are not a good combo. Maybe you need to run 33's and 3.90's. I would do a little research into what fits your needs the best and go from there.

I'm sporting a 96' w/ 9 inches of lift, 35s and 4.56 gears posi and I must say my 360 motivates those 35s no problem. Motor was replaced from a 318 to a 360 with a RV cam jasper claims 300 HP +/. Is your diff a LSD, open, or posi, if its open u should be able to do a one wheel wonder. If all else fail put a little water down. Btw why would you want to burn rubber.... too costly lol.

ok i have a quick ? on this subject i have a 95 dodge 1500 the the nv
3500 trans my truck has the 318 and i run 35s what would be a good gear ratio for better power 5th is absolutely useless even at highway speed i throw it in 5th and i start losing speed so needless to say i drive it like a 4 speed right now lol

I vote for gears...4:10s on a truck with 285/33 inch tires will bump the power band back into the the torque/hp curve of say 235/245 tires and your 3:55s. With 35 inch tires, 4:56 gears is the recommended, but I understand 4:88s are availible.
Now a lighter vehicle like a short bed regular cab might get away with 4:10s and 35's

Lets not forget that larger tires weigh more and therefore take more torque to get moving. They are torque eaters...and although a high stall converter would help there is a downall...they generate more heat. In a transmission known for its abilty to meltdown without warning, this is a bad thing.

Gears, on the other hand, provide instant response and torque multiplication. Imagine almost 80 or more ft lbs of torque instantly applied to your tires the moment you touch the gas. As far as mileage goes, there is a "potential" at certain speeds to increase your mileage because your motor isn't lugging down, and your tannny will probably not hunt as nmuch for OD on hills

There are two disadvantages to gears...the first, cost. It's not cheap to regear. However I can assure you after some 30 plus years of modifying and racing motor vehicles that no mod gives your ride more "attitude" than gears.
You can add more motor mods like headers, rockers, and the like, but untll you radically change the off idle torque output, you will not achieve the results you seek.

The second is that while gears are torque increasers, they are horsepower eaters. So your top end will go down. You will not be able to go 100+ mph anymore with your truck. You could probably build up a motor with those other mods to do so, but I would have to question your sanity.

ok correct me if im wrong but if i plan on going to 40s in the every near future the best gear for me in the long run will be a 4.88 for the highway speeds and mpg right? or am i looking at it completely wrong

I can't tell you what to expect because my truck isn't legal in the state of Virginia but the lady I bought it from claimed she got 18-20 mpgs running 35 bfg ATS ans the 4.56s. How true this is idk with my experience the 318 340 and 360 have never got over 16mpg especially lifted 9-10 inches on 35s so I'm call BS but I'll know for sure in about 2-3 months

I'm feeling that I must have been lucky... my '98 1500 4x4 SWB manual transmission use to get 19 hwy/16 city, when new... now at 140,000+ it's getting 15 hwy/12 city.
So far it is all stock, but I'm ready for some mods to improve the mileage and maybe give it a little more umph like it use to have.

Hey i have a 99 5.2 and im planning on getting shorty headers, CAI, hughes plenum kit, doing the TB mods, and possibly rockers. How much a difference will i notice? and whats a good set of rockers for under $350? thanks